ABSTRACT
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) generates a list of banned substances as well as a number of training methods and competition tactics or strategies that are prohibited. One such prohibited method is blood doping. This chapter provides an overview of examples of blood doping methods, the value of blood doping and the negative impacts it can have on a person. Further, an overview is presented on the Biological Passport established to determine if athletes are following the rules pertaining to blood doping. Next, cutting-edge advances in technology utilized for blood doping are presented. They include oxygen-carrying red blood cells that are generated using stem cells and mechanical red blood cells created through nanotechnology. The implications of these cutting-edge technological tactics, some of which WADA has already outlawed, are a key focus. An abundance of research on the topic illustrates that the effort to eradicate blood doping in sport has been unsuccessful, is controversial and that emerging technologies will only aid in making the situation more complex. A rethinking, as to whether blood doping should continue to be on the prohibited list, is proposed as the human and financial resources expended in the past decades have yet to eliminate its use by athletes. Emerging technologies adapted for use in blood doping will make succeeding in the effort more difficult.
